


Neon

by teudoongiejjang



Series: Tumblr Prompts [11]
Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Triggers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-07 08:39:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19205824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teudoongiejjang/pseuds/teudoongiejjang
Summary: Based on a Tumblr Prompt I received;"Jeongyeon regrets how her life has gone. One moment you're part of Asia's biggest girl group and the next you're waitressing in a strip club for minimum wage. Why did she leave again? Oh yeah, her damn pride. She felt like she was getting outshined, so she threw a tantrum and threatened to go unless she got more attention. Management called her out, and her pride wouldn't let her admit she was bluffing. So, she's now wallowing, while the others travel and become the world's sweethearts"





	Neon

**Author's Note:**

> Quick Note before I get into this. I love this request, but I didn’t strictly follow it. Jeongyeon still works in a strip club after getting kicked out of JYPE but not necessarily for being outshined and throwing a tantrum. Pride reasons still stand though. Trigger Warning! for heavy referencing to rape/non-con

“JYP, sir, respectfully I have absolutely no idea what she is talking about,” the feigned innocence dripped from Nayeon’s sickly sweet voice, as she stared wide eyed at the man. The tone of voice that, 10 minutes before, would have brightened her day, had her subconsciously curling her hands into fists by her side. Clenching and unclenching her hands so hard the indentation from her nails would surely break skin leaving a stinging mess, almost as bad as the one that gripped her heart. She just sat there as Nayeon, denied everything they had together. Nayeon spat on everything they had built, without hesitation. Selfish, that was all Jeongyeon could see her as now. She’d thrown Jeongyeon to the wolves for the sake of saving her own reputation and career. Everything felt like a blur, flashing before her eyes somehow both in slow motion and too quick to comprehend. It felt as though she was being held underwater, noises were muffled and there was a ringing in her ears as she still sat unmoving, fists by her side. She could hear words being thrown around the room, but she wasn’t taking anything in, it was as though she wasn’t there with them. Physically she was, mentally though she was miles away. Nayeon held her entire career in her hands, and she tossed it away without any second thoughts, without remorse.

The memory ran through her mind, as she shoved the meagre tips into the back pocket of the shorts of her uniform that left little to the imagination. There wasn’t a day that passed where Jeongyeon didn’t think of the outcome if Nayeon had admitted that they were together. Surely, JYP wouldn’t kick the two of them out of TWICE. Two members would have been catastrophic, for the both of them Jeongyeon was certain he would’ve scoured his mind for ways to fix the mess. For just her though? He didn’t bother, she was disposable. TWICE didn’t need her, the lack of lines or centre time she received in any of their comebacks made it evident that she was only there to fill space. An odd number makes formations and choreography much easier to organise, always being able to have an obvious centre. An obvious centre which was always Nayeon. _Nayeon,_ the name left a bitter taste in her mouth. They’d had no contact in about a year. The older girl had text her the day after JYP immediately terminated her contract with the company, effectively removing her from TWICE.

_“A fucking text, she ruins my life and sends a fucking text.”_

No longer having the media protection provided to them by JYP and his seemingly endless funds and stream of lawyers at his beck and call, it didn’t take long for the media to be swarming on the story. Soon news of her sexuality painted the cover of every major tabloid, and was splashed throughout every major media site. For months people with nothing better to do with their lives combed through any piece of evidence as to the identity of the woman seen in the photo that ruined her. Only two people knew the figure that leaned up to kiss her in the picture, and that was the two in the picture. Nayeon and herself. She’d lost everything. Her career. Her money as most of her savings went into paying off debt to the company and settling the many lawsuits brought against her for the subsequent stock drops JYPE faced. The one that had hurt the most was when her own mother called her, subjecting her to a slew of insults, some too hard for her to ever repeat. Every hate filled word; every disgust laced statement wore her down more and more. She listened as the woman who was supposed to ease her pain, only brought her more. When she was sure she couldn’t take much more the phone went silent. Until she heard the familiar rasp of her father’s voice, about to thank him for finishing the verbal assault, she was stopped as they renounced her position in the family. Without another word the line went dead. She was no longer a Yoo. Holding on to a semblance of hope that in time this would blow over, and her parents would calm down, was futile which she soon came to learn. Returning to her home, no her parents’ house, she found all of her things packed up strewn haphazardly in front of the door. That was the point at which she realised she had nobody; she truly was alone.

The string of unfortunate events that was her life brought her to the present, spending her evenings and nights working in the only place where she was sure no one would notice. When looking for an outcast and shunned former idol, who would look in a sleazy dilapidated strip club in the middle of nowhere. With no income and no support, she’d managed to gather enough money to place a deposit on a cramped single room apartment that she now calls home. Home. The evolution of the word in her life took many twists and turns, first being with her parents, then in the dorms with other JYP trainees, then in the dorms with the rest of TWICE, finally settling to be with Nayeon.

Now, home was with just her and the chipping walls, creaky shower door and uncomfortable slab she called a bed. It being better than living out on the streets was the only thing that kept her pushing on. She’d found the club, as a result of wanting to drown her sorrows, wanting to drink until she couldn’t remember her own name, or better yet _hers_. Knocking back shot after shot, intoxication clouded her better judgement. The owner, a stout balding man, approached her getting too close for comfort. His calloused hands were big and clammy, and felt wrong against her skin. A clear contrast to Nayeon’s slim and smooth ones. She had pushed the memory of the night to the very back of her mind, never wanting it to emerge again. One minute she was at the bar, and the next she was shoved up against the door to his office. The thin partition walls rattled and shook as he had his way with her. No matter how she tried to repress the memory, the thing that would never leave was the feel of his hot breath on her neck and the smell of his cheap cologne which made her want to spill the contents of her stomach all over him. Crying wouldn’t do much, so she didn’t. Expressionless she let him do as he pleased, she had nothing to live for anyway, she didn’t care what happened.

The man, she’d later come to know as Jaegeun, was scheming and manipulative. With threats of releasing photos, he’d taken of her that night he roped her into working for him. Showing up every night in a skimpy uniform that barely covered her, with her hair grown out from the signature short choppy cut providing her with some sense of anonymity, she waitressed. If you could call bringing watered down drinks to barely conscious patrons as they ogled both her and the other girls who worked here. Most of the girls working here were younger than her, and Jeongyeon often found herself pondering how they’d gotten themselves caught up in this mess. Runaways mostly broke, with no qualifications or prospects of a bright future, she decided. It stung when she realised that she too, fit that profile. She went from being up in the clouds, idolised by the country as the nation’s sweethearts, to crashing harshly back down to earth. The patrons there were too out of it, in their alcohol and drug induced haze, to be aware of who she was. To them she was just another half-naked girl to leer at.

The sign that stood above the entrance to the club made her scoff every time she glanced at it. _No Touching_. Putting the sign there was only a formality. Every single person here knew better. Jaegeun only had one thing on his mind and so for the right price everything could be overlooked. It was too easy how the wealth-obsessed owner could be swayed. Often Jeongyeon overheard him bargaining with a patron over how much his silence would cost. It made her physically sick, that he could speak so unabashedly and open about how much money it would take to for him to basically sell off a girl for the night. A girl, most of which Jeongyeon knew weren’t even old enough to step foot in the door. Jeongyeon shuddered at the memories of girls being led to one of the back rooms, as Jaegeun leafed through the crisp bills placed in his hands. The same sentiment crossed her mind every time this happened, if she didn’t do anything to stop it though, perhaps she wasn’t much better than him. She kept to herself, she was only there for a paycheck that was barely enough to keep her afloat. It was a little too risky for her to have much close contact with her co-workers, the changed hairstyle could only do so much for those who were sober. The only person that she did talk to there was one of the security guards, Namkyu. He had been the one to help her home following the night when she first met Jaegeun. He knew who she was, but he kept his mouth shut and for that Jeongyeon will forever be grateful. Namkyu’s appearances were deceiving. His towering height, sharp features and permanent stern look etched onto his face, warned off most people. It worked well for the club as one look from him intimidated most from acting as out of line as you could in such a place. Jeongyeon knew that he was really a quiet and friendly guy.

 

Nayeon looked up with hooded eyes at the flickering neon sign. Her head was spinning slightly, and the bright lights were a little disorienting. She was aware what the place was, it was plain to see. She knew that being spotted headed into a strip club would be catastrophic, possibly even bringing an end to her career much like she’d done to Jeongyeon all that time ago. With that in mind she fixed the mask that covered most of her face, leaving only her eyes visible.

_“this will do,”_ she confirmed to herself before stumbling forward, the force of the crash pushing the doors open. There was a security guard who had reached out to grab her before she collided with the ground. She was clearly already too wasted to be let in but one glare from the her had him stepping back with his hands held up in front of him.

She ordered a needed drink. The barman had given her some odd looks, the sight of a woman who didn’t work here was rare, she assumed. The fact she hadn’t been asked to leave yet surprised her. Looking around it felt wrong. She shouldn’t be here; she shouldn’t be compared to the old men sitting around hollering and practically drooling. Standing up so abruptly that it sent her stool toppling behind her she began to leave. Long hair whipped passed her the owner of which carried a tray of drinks, stopped her in her tracks. A sense of familiarity washed over her. She knew her but being drunk she couldn’t put her finger on it. Something about the girl had her subconsciously placing one foot in front of the other to trail behind. She was drawn to the taller girl, like an invisible force was tugging her along.

Suddenly, there was a harsh grip around her upper arm, and she was soon being dragged back to the doors through which she stumbled in. She hissed, this girl she had been following had a strong grip and didn’t care if she was hurting her. Anger flooded her chest, who was this girl to throw her out like this. Ripping her arm from the vice like grip, she pulled the mask down ready to stupidly use her celebrity status against the taller woman. The other girl turned to face her slowly. _Jeongyeon_. Even in her intoxicated state she connected the dots in her head. Bracing herself for the inevitable impact as Jeongyeon raises her hand, it doesn’t come. Instead the mask is fixed back to its former place.

“you shouldn’t be here,”

“neither should you,” the older girl countered, the slurring of her words together wasn’t unnoticed by Jeongyeon. Jeongyeon was eerily still, her face showed no emotions as she looked at her. Nayeon swayed from one foot to the other. This was starting to freak her out, she had never seen the other girl like this. The eyes that bore into hers darkened as she started to shake slightly, her fists clenched the same way they were on that day. Nayeon remembers looking at them, she knew it was an angry habit she had. She spent many days in the bathroom softly wiping dried blood from her palms from where the nails broke skin as Jeongyeon sat perched on the bathroom counter in front of her. She longed to reach out and intertwine their fingers both to be close to her and to stop her from hurting herself. However, she knew it wasn’t her place. She lost that privilege the minute she lied to JYP. She lost any right to do anything to or for the girl after that day. She wanted so badly to meet up and apologise and to make her believe her when she did, but she contact had been strictly prohibited. She managed to sneak a text before being forced to change her phone. How stupid was she, to think a text would suffice. She should have called, arranged to meet up, anything. She spent weeks on end moping and kicking herself up about doing that to the girl she loved, but she was a coward. She would rather lie and ruin someone else than stand up and face the prejudice and hate that would surely come their way. Now Jeongyeon had no one and it was because of her.

“you are the reason I am here. Get out”

“wait Jeong-”

“GET OUT,” the guttural roar attracted the attention of Namkyu. The harsh noise had startled Nayeon causing her to lose her footing as she backed away in her drunken state. Once again, she didn’t hit the ground but this time she hadn’t been caught by the security guard, but by Jeongyeon. Nayeon was ashamed when she felt herself lean into the arms that caught her, savouring the embrace for what was probably the last time she’d ever experience it. She didn’t deserve it, but she didn’t want to lose it either. Approaching the two women Namkyu turned to Jeongyeon looking expectantly. Passing Nayeon to him, the taller woman turned to the man to explain.

“she came in here looking for her husband, I think she’s had a little too much to drink. Could you escort her out please?”

Before Namkyu could do just that Jeongyeon leaned up to tell him something, too low for Nayeon to hear. He nodded in understanding as he hesitantly accepted the bills that Jeongyeon pulled from her back pocket. He knew this was her entire nights earnings but the girl he was supporting must have been more than just a drunken confused woman. This girl must have meant a great deal to Jeongyeon, so he didn’t question anything. Hailing a cab, he helped the girl into the back and informed the driver of the address Jeongyeon had given him. Stepping back inside he ignored Jeongyeon as she wiped tears that had escaped after the unknown girl left, he knew better than to say anything. She liked to be alone. So, he left her there as she typed something on her phone all while attempting to compose herself.

_“Jihyo, Nayeon will be pulling up in a cab in about 30 mins. Please make sure she gets in safe”_

_Read:    00.36am_

She expected that, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. Turning off her phone, she silently said goodbye to that chapter of her life for, hopefully, the last time. She returned to her work. This is who she is now.


End file.
